Piotr Nockowski

Psoriasis vulgaris, particularly its juvenile form, is strongly associated with the HLA-Cw*06 allele encoding the HLA-Cw6 molecule. This molecule is recognized by the inhibitory receptor KIR2DL1 and the activatory receptor KIR2DS1, which are expressed on natural killer cells and subpopulations of T lymphocytes. Humans differ by the presence or absence of particular KIR genes. We hypothesized that either activatory KIR2DS1 or inhibitory KIR2DL1 gene frequencies might be different in ...

Stasis dermatitis is a common disorder, which is a consequence of impaired venous drainage of the legs. It is characterized histologically by proliferation of small blood vessels in the papillary dermis. This neovascularization may lead occasionally to the formation of discrete papules due to inflammatory processes. In order to evaluate the role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the acute phase of chronic venous insufficiency, we examined the production of MMP-1, -2, -13 and tissue ...

Recently we described an association between psoriasis and KIR2DS1, a gene for a stimulatory natural killer cell receptor, in a Polish population. The association was independently reported among Japanese and confirmed in a U.S. population. Prompted by these findings, we reanalyzed data by a multivariate approach in search of possible effects of KIR genes other than KIR2DS1 (non-KIR2DS1). The methodology was based on a stratified analysis and multiple logistic regression. We found that ...

Interleukin (IL)-7 is a multifunctional cytokine which is involved in the regulation of keratinocyte-T lymphocyte interactions; the latter is an important factor in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. In vitro, IL-7 is able to induce release of cytokines, including IL-6; IL-6 expression is known to be enhanced in psoriatic patients. Serum levels of IL-7 and IL-6 were measured by ELISA in 40 psoriatic patients and compared with cytokine levels in 18 healthy individuals. Serum levels of IL-7 ...

Psoriasis vulgaris is a multifactorial disease with an autoimmune component, and T lymphocytes seem to be involved in its aetiology. CTLA-4 molecule is an important down-regulator of T-lymphocyte activation, and several polymorphisms of the CTLA-4 gene were found to be associated with some autoimmune diseases. We examined whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CTLA-4 gene, CT60A>G and +49A>G, are associated with psoriasis vulgaris. Alleles of these two SNPs were determined ...

CTLA-4 molecule is an important inhibitor of T-lymphocyte activation. Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CTLA-4 gene were found, and their associations with many human diseases were described. So far, however, such studies have not been performed in psoriasis vulgaris in Caucasoids. Therefore, we examined the distribution of three CTLA-4 SNPs: -1147C/T, -318C/T and +49 A/G in 116 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 123 healthy blood donors using the polymerase chain ...

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune hyperproliferative skin disease of varying severity affecting approximately 2-3% of the general population in the USA and Europe. Although the pathogenesis of psoriasis has not been fully elucidated, an immunologic-genetic relationship is likely. Cutaneous and systemic overexpression of various proinflammatory cytokines (TNF, interleukins, interferon-gamma) has been demonstrated in psoriatic patients.

METHODS: We reviewed the current database ...

E-selectin is an adhesion molecule expressed on vascular endothelial cells in several inflammatory skin diseases, including psoriasis. It is responsible for the adherence between microvascular endothelium and neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils and subsets of T cells. Soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin) serum levels were measured by ELISA in 32 psoriatic patients before treatment and compared with both post-treatment sE-selectin levels in 16 patients and sE-selectin values in 10 healthy ...

INTRODUCTION: The standard treatment for lichen sclerosus (LS) is symptomatic and is primarily based on the chronic use of corticosteroids, sometimes resulting in unsatisfactory effects. Therefore, other non-pharmacological methods are being sought, which are less aggravating for the patient. LS can be treated topically by using photodynamic therapy (PDT) based on 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA). Unfortunately, therapy with the red light is often connected with severe local pain during the ...

Association of psoriasis vulgaris with HLA-C is not equally strong in different human populations. It has not yet been studied in Polish patients at DNA level, but only by serology that is inadequate for HLA-C. Therefore, we examined the distribution of HLA-C alleles by means of low resolution PCR-SSP in 102 Polish psoriatics and 123 healthy controls. We have found significantly higher representation of HLA-Cw*06 (odds ratio, 18.73; P(cor)<0.001) and significantly lower representation of ...